Love Don't  Cost a Thing
by ButterflyChic79
Summary: Calleigh gets sick and comes down with the bad case of the Flu. During her sickness, she gets kidnapped and Horatio and his team must find a way to save her before it is too late. Cowritten  with SpookySpice.
1. Calleigh's bad Cold

Love Don't Cost a Thing Authors: Angel2008-2009 & SpookySpice Disclaimer: We don't own any of the original members of CSI. Just borrowing them to write fanfic with. No profit is being made of these stories. We just write em for fun!

Summary: Calleigh comes down with a bad case of the Flu. While she is sick, she gets kidnapped. Will Horatio and his team work together to save Calleigh in the nick of time?

"Calleigh, are you sure you're alright?" Eric asked for the umpteenth time today.

"Yes. Fine", she said, holding her temper. It's not that she minded everyone's concern, it's just that they wouldn't leave her alone! She felt horrible, and she knew it, but they didn't need to keep reminding her!!!!!

There was a chance this cold was making her irritable.

"I'm just saying that-"

"Eric! Enough!"

He smirked-darn him-and held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Just asking. Being a good friend and all".

Speed strolled in. "Wow, Calleigh, you look like hell. You should go home".

Eric snickered and moved out of range.

Calleigh's nostrils flared. "Thank you, Tim", she ground out. Speed gave her a look. Been hearing that all day, huh?"

"Yep".

"Don't worry, Cal." Eric pointed to the clock. It'll all be over soon".

"Praise God".

Was it bad if gun shots were muffled without you needing to wear ear protection? Calleigh wasn't about to try that particular experiament, but it was worth asking.

She was finishing up a round of ballistics reports and putting everything back in its place. Closing up shop for the weekend. She was looking forward to a scalding hot shower, tea, and bed. And if she was up for it, that book she was desparately trying to get through. It was great, she just hadn't had time to finish it.

A coughing fit hid Horatio's approach.

"Calleigh?"

"Horatio", Coughing again.

Horatio helped her sit down. Calleigh tried to breathe deep and end it.

When it was over, Horatio said (in that voice reserved only for her "Calleigh, have you been working all week like this?"

"Guilty", she said sheepishly. "But I've been very carefull".

"I don't doubt it". He raised himself up to her ear and murmured "But you belong home in bed".

Calleigh shivered. "Are you going to tuck me in?"

Horatio kissed her forehead, and found her burning up. "If that's what milady wants".

"She does".

"Then, let's get you home". 


	2. Calleigh's fever

Once Horatio drove her home and helped her into her pjs and tucked her in, he checked her temperature with a thermometer.

"104 degrees Calleigh, that's quiet a fever. Now, I want you to get plenty of rest, I'll take care of your meals

and house, and , no going to work for a week!"

Calleigh protested. "But, Horatio, what about my lab?"

Horatio held her hand "Natalia can take care of it. She's excellant in firearms".

Calleigh sighed "Okay. But you know I don't like staying in bed could you bring me some word search books, cookies that

Alexx makes, and some soup?"

Horatio smiled. "I can do that". He pulled the covers up to Calleigh closer. "Sleep tight. Call me if you need anything

else." He kissed her on the forehead.

"Thanks Horatio", said Calleigh already sleepy. Her eyes drifted into a peaceful slumber.

Horatio then went to get what Calleigh asked for then went back to work.


	3. Calleigh gets taken care of

Three days later, Calleigh was in the same boat, though her fever had gone down. Currently, she was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, bored out of her mind. She didn't want to sleep, she didn't want to watch a movie, she didn't want to put on music because her head hurt, she didn't want to read or do puzzles or even eat. She was about to start crying because she was just so bored!

Looking at the clock, she saw it was Lunchtime, but she couldn't get up. Her head hurt so feircely. "Calleigh?" a quiet voice asked. Calleigh glanced at the door. "Hi, handsome". she sat up, rubbing her bright red nose. Horatio smiled at the cute picture she had made. "How're are you feeling?"

"Bout the same", she answered. She looked at the box he was carrying in his hands. "What's that?"

"Care package". Horatio sat down on the bed and handed it to her. Inside was a whole treasure trove of stuff sent by the team and a few lab rats as well. "Aw"  
Calleigh was touched. "Thank them for me". "I will. Are you hungry"  
he asked.

"A little. I have to eat something before I can take something for this headache"  
setting the box aside, she pressed her fingertips to her temples. "I'll go make you something", Horatio said, getting up.

"Oh", Horatio, you don't have to..." but he was already out the door. A girl could get used to this, she thought and sat back to look through her presents. Time seemed to drag by quickly as Calleigh kept herself busy with her new goodies.  
Calleigh ate a few of Alexx's chocolate and peanut butter cookies. She had sent Calleigh a whole tin of them. Speed had given her a book that was a mystery/romance novel, Eric had given her a DVD to watch called Bruce Almighty. Because he figured she needed a few good laughs. Natalia sent her some new Bubble bath bottles, and a bag of her favorite candy.

Ryan Wolfe had given her a journal, and a new cd she had been wanting for months. It was of Nature sounds one she had always wanted. Also from the group was Advils, cough drops, and a box of tissues. A few magazines was in the box mostly Entertainment gossip ones about celebrities.

Calleigh enjoyed using her stuff to pass the time. But, it wasn't the same as wanting to be at work and to want to be with her friends the co-workers. Calleigh new she was a workaholic. She had to admit it. Working gave her something to do. Calleigh wasn't the type who liked to be lazy for the sake of being lazy.

Calleigh was poking and playing with the labrats when Horatio came back with some fast food. Horatio had gotten Japanese food and got Calleigh's favorite. Steak, Shrimp, and rice. Along with some potatoe soup for later. He also brought a gallon of tea.

The two ate in silence. Calleigh ate her food hungrilly and took medicine for her killer headache. The room seemed like it was getting colder to Calleigh. So she got a blanket, and wrapped it around her. Looking up at Horatio Calleigh said "Horatio, thanks for taking care of me. A girl could get used to this", she grinned up at him. 


	4. Calleigh gets robbed

Horatio smiled "My pleasure, ma'am". He looked at the clock and saw how late it was. "Are you going to be alright tonight?"

Calleigh nodded. "I'll be back to work in no time".

Horatio nodded and got up. There, was a slightly awkward pause where the two kind of just looked at each other. . The sparks between them flared up.

Horatio shook his head. "Good.Good. Have a good night, Calleigh".

"You to, Horatio", she said.

(one week later...)

Feeling 100 better, Callleigh walked back into the tracing lab.

"Hey, Cal, welcome back", Eric greeted her.

"Hey Eric, Thank you. I can't believe how much I've missed this place".

"Even though you could barely lift your head up?" Eric asked laughing.

"Yes, yes", she said swatting him. "I just hope my lab is in one piece".

Calleigh walked into her lab. It felt so good to be back into work. Her smile quickly faded as she turned on the light.

Someone had broken into her lab and practically rainsacked the place. Vials and alot of glass containers were broken. It looked as if they were looking for a particular vial. Calleigh's sudden good mood quickly changed into a foul mood.

"I can't leave, to get better with the Flu and someone breaks into my place!" Calleigh looked to where she kept her vials. The container that held them was on the floore. Some of her vials were spilled. Whoever broke into her lab needed them badly. But why?

Fuming, Calleigh noticed other things missing. She marched back into the trace lab to find Eric.

Eric looked at Calleigh and instantly saw something was wrong. "What's the matter Calleigh? Is there a problem?" he asked.

Calleigh walked inside. "You bet there is something wrong. I shouldn't have stayed out sick. Someone broke into my lab and stole some vials! And they completely wrecked the projects I was working on! My computers have been hacked into and won't work well, so how can I get anything DONE!" Calleigh practically yelled.

Eric put up his hands in defense. "Whoa, You have to calm down Calleigh. It's terrible you have been robbed. You should go tell Horatio".

"Maybe I'll go do just that", Calleigh huffed and turned to march towards Horatio's office.

send in more reviews!


	5. Another Crime Scene

Horatio was sitting at his desk filling out paperwork. Shaking out a cramp in his hand; he looked up to see Calleigh bounding up the stairs, with Eric behind her.

"Horatio, someone broke into my lab", Calleigh said in a rush. Even her face looked flushed.

"It was just hers, H", Eric said "No one else has anything missing".

"Lock it down", Horatio ordered. "No one leaves until we do a sweep of the lab".

(4 hours later)

The lab had been swept; and everyone questioned. No one had seen or heard anything, not even Calleigh's replacement.

"Nothing just disappears", Speed grumbled.

"What was taken?" Horatio asked.

"The murder weapon from the Alice Smith Murder along with a few other weapons", said Calleigh.

"That's all? Nothing else?" Eric asked, incredulous.

Calleigh nodded. "Things are broken, but nothing else is missing. This is strange, Horatio".

Alice Smith was a 32- year-old waitress with a husband and two children who had been caught in a crossfire between two rival gangs. Horatio wanted to bring both gangs down- He'd promised her children.

(Meanwhile across town...)

Rob Stewart and his buddies had successfully grabbed the gun they had used that had accidentally killed Alice Smith; a woman they hadn't meant to kill.

The CSI blonde chick was getting too close to reveal who the killer was, and Robby couldn't have one of his own men or even him going to jail. They all had families to feed and to take care of.

Rob and his gang made their money by selling illegal drugs to other gang members. It was a job that was illegal; but it paid well. And, it kept his family fed. Rob and his gang didn't get along with every other gang members. They only got along with certain ones.

The other night, they got into a fight with another gang at a nearby Super Market. One of them had opened fire to hit the other gang member they were enemies with. Instead, they had shot an innocent woman who had been walking carrying some groceries to get to their car.

It was now two days later, and Rob and his buddies were desperately trying to stay out of jail. And there first plan was to break into the firearms girl's lab. And to retrieve back their murder weapons. The CSI's wasn't going to find out who did it. The break in to the lab was to scare off them. Rob doubted it would work, and they needed another plan that would keep the dumb blonde's mouth shut.

Calleigh watched as everyone who worked with her sweep up her lab. She sighed and couldn't believe that her lab had been turned into a crime scene. The mess was cleaned up and Calleigh was able to use her lab once again. Both her, Eric, Speed, Natalia, and Alexx were standing around and talking.

"I can't believe the guns are gone, How are we going to be able to solve this murder case without the murder weapons?" Calleigh looked frustrated.

"Who says we need the murder weapons? We do have other evidence", said Natalia trying to look on the positive side of things.

Alexx nodded. "You still have the bullets used to shoot poor Alice, plus the evidence that we've gathered at the crime scene. And with Alice's body now in the morgue, she'll give us all the answers we need".

Calleigh sighed again "I really hope so. I want to solve this case, and Horatio wants the others to be brought to justice.

"We all do want that", said Natalia and the others agreed.


	6. A team night out

Time passed and the murder went unsolved, much to everyone's -especially Calleigh's -Frustration. There had been no further break ins, probably due to the beefed up security, also maybe that the Killer thinks that by removing the murder weapon, he's free and clear. Everyone was on high alert and this lead to tension which led to stress. It culminated in Horatio yelling at Alexx for something trivial.

"Horatio, what's the matter?" Alexx asked after he apologized.

Horatio shook his head. "The break in, I guess. How did I let this happen?"

Alexx rolled her eyes. "Horatio, there's nothing you could have done. Beating yourself up over it isn't going to find this guy."

"I know, I know". he said.

"Why don't you ask Calleigh out tonight?" she suggested.

"What?" Horatio's head snapped towards Alexx.

Alexx grinned. So there is truth to that rumor. "Along with everybody else. Why don't we all go out to dinner? And give everyone else the night off as well. All the tension in here is fraying everyone's nerves".

Horatio nodded "Good idea, Alexx. Spread the word".

"Will do, Boss". she said.

Ask Calleigh out…. Alexx's voice continued to float around Horatio's head.

Should he ask her out? Or would that be too inappropriate? It could be seen as favoritism, but then he'd showed favoritism to his people all the time. Dating Calleigh wouldn't change anything, would it? And if the two of them worked out…Well, it'd be nice to have someone to come home to.

Horatio pondered this as he entered Calleigh's lab. She was hunched over her microscope and ignoring everything around her.

"Calleigh?" he asked.

She looked up at the sound of Horatio's soft voice. "Horatio", she said, pleased to see him. "What brings you down here?" she asked.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight?" he asked her nervously.

Calleigh's heart sped up, but she played it cool. "With you?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

Horatio smiled faintly. "Yeah, and Alexx, Eric, Speed, and the rest of us. A team night out".

Her smile slipped a little, but she answered, "Sounds like fun".

"I'll see you at 7 then?" he asked.

Calleigh nodded. "See ya". Then she went back to her microscope.

Horatio walked out, mentally kicking himself.


	7. Seafood Anyone?

Calliegh smiled and shook her head. Silly man. Why was it so hard for him just to ask her?

And, so they all went out for supper that night to Joe's Crab shack. It was a seafood place. Calliegh and the others loved Seafood and would at times eat out together as a group.

Calliegh had been thrilled when Horatio asked her out. Both her and him had feelings for each other and they worked so hard at keeping their feelings hidden from everyone but not Alexx.

Alexx was Calliegh's best friend and whomever Calliegh dated or had an interest in, Alexx knew all about it. One day Alexx caught Calliegh and Horatio kissing one another at a Company Christmas Party and ever since then, had been trying to urge the two to date one another.

The table reserved for eight was noisy and full of good cheer. Everyone was now in a good mood and talking about other things other than work for a change.

Calliegh smiled. She was glad that everyone got along in their group. They made such a great team when it came to solving cases. Everyone kept laughing and Joking around. It felt great to get together like this at times. Not only were they co-workers, but close friends as well. As Horatio talked to her, Calliegh smiled. She loved hearing his voice. 


	8. A Group Feast

Later that Evening…..

The Team had each eaten twice their body weight in Shellfish, and washed it down with lots of beer. And now, all were feeling no pain.

Eventually, Alexx looked at her watch "Oh, I got to get home to my kids".

They all looked at their watches and realized the time. And that the waiters wanted to close down an hour ago.

"See you all Monday", Speed and Eric chorused, as they "helped" (See: staggered) each other out the door. The others said their goodbyes and "See you Mondays" and then Calliegh and Horatio were alone.

"Split a cab?" Calliegh suggested.

"Sounds good". said Horatio.

They got to Calliegh's place first. Horatio lived a couple streets over, so he paid the Cabbie off, intending to walk home. It was a pleasant night.

As Horatio walked Calliegh to her front door, he spoke up. "I had a good time tonight".

Calliegh smiled up at him "So did I".

They got to the front door and paused.

"Calliegh", Horatio stopped, trying to word this well. Calliegh pulled out her keys and waited, looking at him.

"Calleigh, would you like to go to dinner with me next Saturday?" he asked.

Calliegh smiled. He finally got it out. "I would love that, Horatio."

Horatio smiled back. Inside, he was cheering . Though he'd never let anyone know that. 


	9. Caleigh's first date with Horatio

I know it's been ages since I have updated this story. But me and my co-writer have been suffering from writer's block! One thing I keep getting confused here is how to spell Calleigh's name on the show so I had to look it up to see how it was spelled.

"So," came Alexx's voice from the door to Calliegh's lab. "What's going on? With you and Horatio?"

Calleigh fought to stay cool and not blush. "Whatever do you mean, Alexx?"

Alexx's smile widened. Hah, I was right, she thought to herself. "Oh, c'mon Calleigh", she said. "The boys may be oblivious, but everyone else has noticed you two flirting with each other more than normal this week".

Darn, and here I thought we were being discreet, Calleigh grumbled to herself.

Seeing Calleigh's look of equal parts irritation and apprehension. "Relax, girl. Everyone is rooting for you guys". said Alexx.

Calleigh nodded. "Good to know".

Alexx came to stand on the opposite side of the lab table." So, how far have you two…?"

Calleigh chuckled. Of course. "How far do you think?"

"Hmmmm…." Alexx studied her friend. "Well, it seems to me that you two haven't gone anywhere. But for the sake of the Office Pool, I won't let that become public knowledge".

Caleigh knew about the Office Pool. She figured it should offend her, co-workers betting on other co-workers-but it didn't. She found it funny. "How much are we up to?" she asked.

Alexx thought a minute. "Last I heard, it was at least $1,000".

"I should put into it then", Calleigh said.

Alexx laughed. "So," she continued, back to coy. "What's the next step for you two?"

"We have a date for Saturday night". said Calleigh.

"Good! You're going to tell me everything, right?" asked Alexx.

"Of Course!" said Calleigh.

Alexx grinned, then left, leaving Calleigh to her work.

Calleigh went through her closet wardrobe that following evening. I definitely need to do more shopping. She had a good selection of party dresses, but none of them seemed sexy enough. They were perfect for Weddings, and Parties at work. But she needed a sexy one for her date tonight.

She was suppose to meet Horatio at 7:00 downstairs at the door. He was picking her up. It was going to be a Dinner and a Movie and a walk in the local Park viewing the Stars if the weather was clear.

Calleigh finally selected a black silk dress and a matching pair of black low-heel dress shoes. She got dressed, and brushed her long straight blonde hair. Calleigh then put on some jewelry, and then perfume. Time to go, she thought as she put finishing touch of Peach lip-gloss to her lips. She then added some Peach blush to her cheeks. At 7, she was ready to go. Calliegh grabbed her matching black shiny purse and her sweater then went downstairs and opened the door.

"Hi Horatio". Calleigh said grinning. A few weeks ago she had the Flu. But now she was better and ready to date Horatio. I can't believe Alexx already thinks we're sleeping together she thought. We haven't gotten that far and this is actually our first date outside of Office.


End file.
